You might think massage therapists should know what pressure is right for you. Yes, and no. They do have a good idea based on how your tissue feels like, so they can adjust their pressure accordingly. However, how your tissue feels like (e.g. tightness) isn’t always a good indication because it is you, who feel it, not your tissue. You can be very sensitive to touch and can’t stand any deep pressure even if you have tight muscles. On the other hand, your tissue isn’t tight, but you feel it tense and want stronger pressure. The perception is relative.
Another issue is the approach of each massage therapist varies as I mentioned in “Art of Pressure” and “FAQ: Is Deep Tissue Massage painful?” On top of that, what each of them expects their clients to feel is also different. I understand that you trust your therapist’s judgment and go along with “not-so-sure-feeling” believing it might do you good in the end. Or, you just thought that’s what was supposed to feel like.
I have an embarrassing story when I received a “deep tissue” massage after I became a massage therapist. The massage was vigorous all the way through, and the pressure was strong, but I thought it was not hurting, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell the therapist to lighten up. I thought she should know what she was doing. The outcome was miserable. I felt “energized” right after the session, but then my body started to get sore everywhere and got even a bruise on that day. I ended up with pain that I didn’t even have. I realized our definitions of a “deep tissue” massage were completely different.
You, as a client, should be in charge of what feels right for you. Trust your “first perception.” (In my case, the pressure was “strong.”) I remembered that one of the instructors at my massage school said “if you are thinking about pressure during the session, it is probably too much.”